Jon Daniels: Nelson Cruz, David Murphy, Matt Harrison, Neftali Feliz, Elvis Andrus, Josh Hamilton, Bengie Molina, Cliff Lee, Mike Napoli, Adrian Beltre and Yu Darvish.

Nolan Ryan: Roy Oswalt

Hmmmm…

I’m not saying that Nolan doesn’t have any power with the Rangers but he’s not the architect of the team. The GM is the person in charge of making the deals that bring the players. Nolan is important but not in the way that many fans seem to think.

If he walks away the team will still continue to be successful with its young front office featuring some of the brightest minds in the game.

Things will be okay folks.

The Rangers finally won a game in spring training. The world is not ending. Whatever unfounded worries you had can be eased now.

And Lance Berkman looked good in his debut which included a hit, two runs scored and a nine-pitch walk.

As you were.

Welcome to your one stop for all things Texas Rangers-related on Twitter. The following directory contains all major and minor league players who have Twitter accounts. If you know of someone not on here then leave a comment or contact me (@SDIJamesHolland) on Twitter.

Players:

Jorge Alfaro (catcher): @J_Alfar011

Elvis Andrus (shortstop): @ElvisandrusSS1

Chad Bell (pitcher): @ChadBell19

Engel Beltre (center field): @engelbeltre07

Jairo Beras (outfield): @jairoberas

Julio Borbon (center field): @JulioBorbon20

Jake Brigham (pitcher): @jbrigham49

Lewis Brinson (outfield): @LewisBrinson

Dusty Brown (catcher): @TheDustyBrown

Cody Buckel (pitcher): @CheatCode07

Zach Cone (outfielder): @ZachCone

Nelson Cruz (outfielder): @ncboomstick17

Yu Darvish (pitcher) @faridyu

Kellin Deglan (catcher) @keldegs

Cj Edwards (pitcher) @CEdwardsSBS

Neftali Feliz (pitcher): @NefFeliz

Josh Frasier (bullpen catcher): @Frasier66

Joey Gallo (third base): @JoeyGallo24

Leury Garcia (utility): @leurygarcia1

Ben Henry (pitcher): @bhenry22

Hickory Crawdads Bullpen: @CrawdadsBullpen

Derek Holland (pitcher): @Dutch_Oven45

Jared Hoying (outfielder): @jhoying3035

Jamie Jarmon (outfield): @jjarmon34

Colby Killian (pitcher): @ColbyKillian

Michael Kirkman (pitcher): @kirkman44

Will Lamb (pitcher): @LamboLeap30

Josh Lindblom (pitcher): @JoshLindblom52

Leonys Martin (center field): @leonys27martin

Nick Martinez (pitcher): @nickmartinez10

Joe Nathan (closer): @JoeNathan36

Michael Olt (third base): @molt2222

Joseph Ortiz (pitcher): @josephortiz_450

Zach Osborne (pitcher): @Zach_oz

Martin Perez (pitcher): @MartinPerez33D

Jurickson Profar (shortstop): @JURICKSONPROFAR

Jimmy Reyes (pitcher): @jimmymreyes

Josh Richmond (outfielder): @Richie_Rich02

Drew Robinson (shortstop) @drewrobinsonnn

Ryan Rodebaugh (pitcher): @Rodenbagger89

Ben Rowen (pitcher): @B_Rowen

Robbie Ross (pitcher): @Ross_108

Ryan Anthony Rua (shortstop): @Rua_Numba_2

Jake Skole (outfielder): @JakeSkole15

Ryne Slack (pitcher): @slack28

Brandon Snyder (first base): @BrandonSnyder29

Joakim Soria (pitcher): @joakimsoria

Ryan Strausborger (center field): @Ryan_Straus

Yoshinori Tateyama (pitcher): @tatetatetateyan

Nick Urbanus (infielder): @NickUrb

Joe Van Meter (pitcher): @JVanMeter28

Brett Weibley (pitcher): @wild_stallion5

Former Players:

Doug Glanville @dougglanville

Gabe Kapler: @gabekapler

Kevin Mench: @KMench28

Ivan Rodriguez: @Pudge_Rodriguez

Todd Stottlemyre: @ToddStottlemyre

Fernando Tatis: @FernandoTatis17

Staff:

Carlos Olivas (trainer-Frisco): @THECarlosOlivas

Front Office and Broadcast:

Jim Sundberg : @backstop10

John Blake (V.P. of Communications): @RangerBlake

Chuck Morgan (The Voice of the Rangers): @TEXPAMAN

Eric Nadel (Radio Booth): @nadeler

Emily Jones (T.V.): @EmilyJonesFSN

Teams:

Texas Rangers : @Rangers

Round Rock Express (AAA): @RRExpress

Frisco RoughRiders (AA): @RidersBaseball

Myrtle Beach Pelicans (A): @Pelicanbaseball

Hickory Crawdads (A): @HickoryCrawdads

Spokane Indians (short season A): @spokaneindians

Media and others:

Evan Grant (Dallas Morning News): @Evan_P_Grant

Anthony Andro (Fox Sports Southwest): @aandro

Jeff Wilson (Fort Worth Star-Telegram): @JeffWilson_FWST

Jamey Newberg (Newberg Report): @NewbergReport

Adam Morris (Lone Star Ball): @lonestarball

T.R. Sullivan (MLB.com): @Sullivan_Ranger

Local Sports Talk Radio Hosts:

Gavin Dawson (The Fan): @gavindawson

Greg Williams (The Fan): @TCUWhiteTrash

Mark Elfenbein (The Fan): @iamelf

Josh Lewin (The Fan): @joshlewinstuff

Shan Shariff (The Fan): @NewSchoolSS

RJ Choppy (The Fan): @rjchoppy

Richie Whitt (The Fan): @richiewhitt

Bob Sturm (The Ticket): @SportsSturm

Mike Rhyner (The Ticket): @theoldgreywolf

George Dunham (The Ticket): @GeorgeDunham

The Texas Rangers signed veteran lefty Nate Robertson to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training on Monday.

Roberston last pitched in the majors in 2010 posting a 5.95 ERA in 101 innings. He also had a 1.549 WHIP, 63 BB, 42 K, 4.80 WHIP and a 0.5 fWAR.

He has only had an ERA below 4.00 once in his career. (3.84 in 2005).

I’m not really high on him but Texas is seemingly stockpiling a lot of pitchers to compete for bullpen roles in 2013 and a lefty reliever is needed.

So if I were a member of the BBWAA and had a ballot for the 2013 HOF I would vote for three people: Craig Biggio, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens.

Now before you start whining about PED’s you must understand that Clemens and Bonds were hall of famers well before they were suspected of using drugs. One cannot deny that. Then you have to consider the fact that neither of those players ever tested positive for any PED’s.

Craig Biggio was a great hitter in his own right and no suspicion surrounds him.

That is all.

Lance Berkman is officially a Texas Ranger which is a move that I really like. It’s a one-year deal with a vesting option for 2014. In my opinion it solidified the lineup and along with AJ Pierzynski makes up for the loss of Mike Napoli and Josh Hamilton.

One has to wonder just how bad Napoli’s hip is if he can’t pass a physical and Berkman can.

To make room for Berkman on the 40-man roster Texas DFA’d reliever Tommy Hottovy. I never believed Hottovy would make the team out of spring training anyway but more on that later this week on SDI.

The Texas Rangers have signed left handed catcher and somewhat polarizing figure A.J. Pierzynski to a one-year deal pending a physical according to T.R. Sullivan. No details yet on the money but I would assume it would be in the $7-8 million range. 

Pierzynski had a career season in 2012 in which he hit .278/.326/.501 with 27 HR and 77 RBI. He credited the season to working with his former hitting coach. Being a left handed power hitter at RBIA should benefit him this season as well. A one-year deal is also good considering that he is 36 and it keeps Texas from having a long-term deal with an aging player who will eventually regress. 

It has been confirmed that the Rangers met with both A.J. Pierzynski and Cody Ross yesterday.

Pierzynski is a left handed hitting catcher whose numbers last year were .278/.326/.501 with 27 HR, 77 RBI and a 3.4 fWAR. Bill James has him projected at .269/.310/.422 with 17 HR and 61 RBI for 2013. I would imagine his power numbers would actually be higher than projected if he was hitting at RBIA.

Cody Ross is a right handed hitting outfielder whose 2012 numbers were .267/.326/.481 with 22 HR, 86 RBI and a 2.4 fWAR. His 2013 projections are .259/.321/.444 with 19 HR and 69 RBI.

Personally I prefer Nick Swisher over Cody Ross but Ross will be cheaper. And while I like the idea of Texas having Pierzynski I believe they could have Kelly Shoppach at a cheaper price and he puts up good defensive numbers.

Contrary to what the new Scott Swaim, I’m referring to Charlie Burkowitz, said the Rangers have NOT signed Edwin Jackson. I find it funny that Burkowitz said that he was reporting people who slandered him to the police and then he makes up a story about Nick Swisher having gonorrhea. 

Pot meet kettle.

More news as it happens.

In order to keep up with the competition and to keep you, the fan, updated with all of the latest breaking Rangers news clawandantlernation.com is teaming up with shutdowninning.com to keep all fans informed on everything involving the Texas Rangers.

SDI will continue to bring you top notch articles from some of the best writers around whereas Claw and Antler Nation will bring you breaking news especially during free agency with players the Rangers are interested in, including their 2012 stats and 2013 projections from fangraphs.com. 

I, James Holland, will also continue to publish my small blurbs as well that the fans enjoy. Thanks for your continued support and let’s go Rangers in 2013!

With God Josh Hamilton signing with the Angels today it got me thinking about how much money the Angels have invested in older players. I looked over the Angels and Rangers rosters to do a little comparison involving players that are 32 and older. I realize that Josh is 31 but he turns 32 in May so there’s that.

 

Angels Players 32 and Over:

Joe Blanton

Scott Downs

Ryan Madson

C.J. Wilson

Albert Pujols

Vernon Wells

Josh Hamilton

Total Money Invested: $473.25 million

 

Rangers Players 32 and Over:

Colby Lewis

Joe Nathan

Eli Whiteside

Adrian Beltre

Nelson Cruz

Total Money Invested: $95.125 million

 

Yeah that’s a pretty big difference. What makes this worse for the Angels is the fact that they have virtually nobody in their farm system after trading away their three best prospects to obtain a couple of months of Zack Greinke’s services. Good luck with all of that Angels. The Rangers are still spending wisely and have a huge youth movement waiting.